“Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon,” written by Kyle Higgins, illustrated by Giuseppe Cafaro, colored by Marcelo Costa, and with Jason David Frank as a special consultant, tells the story of Tommy Oliver over twenty years since the events of “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.”...
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“Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon,” written by Kyle Higgins, illustrated by Giuseppe Cafaro, colored by Marcelo Costa, and with Jason David Frank as a special consultant, tells the story of Tommy Oliver over twenty years since the events of “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.” Recently losing his teaching job due to budget cuts, Tommy deals with aging and the loneliness that comes with it as his wife Katherine Hillard heads off-world on a trip to Triforia. A Space Patrol Delta (S.P.D.) cadet named Anara seeks Tommy out to let him know that his son, J.J., another S.P.D. cadet, has disappeared. Together, they must find him with Tommy using the Master Morpher to access his old powers one last time.
Like Marvel’s “Old Man Logan” storyline, much of the story focuses on the sense of nostalgia and things left unfinished that accompanies aging. Early in the story, Tommy asks Kat, “Do you ever… I mean… does it ever bother you? How… little we actually did? …It doesn’t really feel any safer, does it?” In their choice to portray the Rangers as aging, rather than simply waiting unchanged for the next “Legendary” episode, Higgins and Cafaro make a bold decision, much like Higgins’ work on Boom! Studios’ “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” series. The story still features space aliens, monsters, and magic, but also a great sense of loss and sacrifice. It takes what fans loved from the franchise as children and supplements it with mature themes for them to enjoy now that they’re adults.
“Soul of the Dragon” builds on the “Power Rangers Ninja Steel” episode “Dimensions in Danger,” both in portraying Tommy and Kat as married and in the use of the Master Morpher. Anara speculates that either Billy Cranston from “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” or Angela Fairweather from “Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue” may have constructed the Master Morpher. The story also serves to help explain the disappearance of Scorpina from “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and her absence from the Zordon wave scene at the end of “Power Rangers: In Space” as well as resolving the fate of Lokar. In a nice touch, the final battle involving the S.P.D. Rangers also includes the Blue Senturion from “Power Rangers Turbo,” who had previously appeared in a videogame in the “Power Rangers S.P.D.” episode, “Stakeout.” Like Brenden Fletcher, Kelly Thompson, and Tini Howard's “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink,” this story gives resolution to a fan-favorite character.